Fortitude Valley Station - all platforms now in service

[ozbob]

Services resumed to all platforms at Fortitude Valley station this morning, 11th October 2008.

I travelled in on EMU46/24  from Oxley 06.39am  to Roma St station, arrived 07.02 am.

Between Corinda and Roma St the main down and up are open this weekend, whilst work proceeding at Indooroopilly and Chelmer.  The subs are blocked at Indooroopilly.

We travelled on the newly re-sleepered line, very smooth.

At Roma St I transferred from platform 9 to platform 7  to board the 7.07 am service to the Airports. IMU 170/172.

Arrived in style at Fortitude Valley platform 2 at 07.13!  Shortly before arriving at Fortitude Valley, the auto-announcement still mentioned Brunswick Street but the guard came on and announced that Brunswick Street was now known as Fortitude Valley and we would be arriving shortly.

The station is now much more pleasant.  All platforms have the centre raised areas, yes it would have been better if the entire platforms had been raised but I assume there were technical reasons why that couldn't be done.  Lifts, single escalators are in place.

Had a chat to a few people, everyone seemed very happy with how it has turned out.

Well done everyone involved with the project, great job!!


Some photographs.  The PIDs are excellent!


Looking across to platforms 2 and 1 from platform 3.




Cleveland service arriving at platform 1.




PIDs above main station entrance




Fortitude Valley station sign platform 1



Photographs R Dow 11 October 2008

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

All aboard Brisbane's 'soundwave' station

All aboard Brisbane's 'soundwave' station

Shannon Molloy |Brisbane Times October 11, 2008 - 4:10AM

The covers have been lifted on an extensive refurbishment of the recently renamed Fortitude Valley train station, with architects drawing influence from the suburb's iconic music and arts roots.
Platforms one and two will reopen this weekend after several months of re-working, to mirror the station's other remodelled platforms.

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Gallery: --> Inside the all new Fortitude Valley Station  Brisbanetimes gallery
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The concourse area and passenger plaza is also complete, bringing the entire project to a close two months ahead of schedule and $1 million under budget.

Transport Minister John Michel described the station, formerly known as Brunswick Street, as the "jewel in the crown" of the urban rail network.

"This is not simply a lick of paint. We have invested in new lifts, escalators and stairways to significantly improve safety and access for all passengers," Mr Mickel said.

"The station has an impressive, modern design and features an array of innovative artworks that pay homage to Brisbane and Fortitude Valley's rich and diverse music history."

At the entrance to the station, lyrics from famed Brisbane bands like Powderfinger will be projected onto a glass wall.
Large artworks by Jennifer Marchant also adorn each of the four platforms, featuring soundwave patterns and quotes from author Andrew Stafford's book about home-grown music talent Pig City.

[ozbob]

Media Release 11 October 2008

SEQ:  Next station is Fortitude Valley!

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has congratulated all concerned with the upgrade of the former Brunswick Street station to a resplendent Fortitude Valley station!  And two months early too!

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"Today, October the 11th saw the resumption of normal Citytrain services on all platforms at Fortitude Valley station.  Platforms 3 and 4 were reopened following their upgrade on March the 29th 2008 (1). Today platforms 1 and 2 were reopened for normal Citytrain services."

"I went to Fortitude Valley station this morning to check out the new station as services resumed (2).  It is a great public transport facility and a welcome addition to our Citytrain network.  Bright, modern, with disabled access it is a huge improvement on the former unsafe, dank dark station that was Brunswick Street station."

"RAIL Back On Track congratulates all concerned with the upgrade project.  The fact that it finished early is a bonus for all commuters."

"Thank you!"

References:

1.    http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=669.0

2.    http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=1398.0

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[brismike]

Yes the new Fortitude Valley Station is very nice. It is where i get off every day. There is a small issue with it though. I have mentioned this to Translink and they responded.

This is what I said to them .....

Comments or Regarding the New upgraded Fortitude Valley Station.[/b]

Firstly congratulations on a job well done and completed earlier than
planned. The new Station looks great and is nice and light
and clean looking. I use it every day to travel to and from
Darra. However I sometimes use it to travel into the City at
lunchtime. This is where there is a slight problem that needs
addressing. I work in Green Square which is behind FV Station
and so access it via the car park and come round to the
barriers from the rear to enter the concourse. You would be
surprised how many people are accessing the station from this
direction. When you go in this way you can't see the monitors
that advise which train is next to the city. Yesterday I went
past the barriers and then had to go back out again to see
which platform I should go to to get the next train to the
city. What is needed is a screen inside the concourse that
tells passengers which platform the next train to the city
will leave from. Right in front of them as they pass through
the barriers would be great. The staff working at the station
can't even tell which platform should be used and they have
to go outside to see. For people catching a train to a
further destination it is not a problem as they most likely
know which platform to go to. It is just for people who want
to go to the city. Can someone at Translink please do
something about this. I would appreciate a reply or phone
call from someone there who can chat about this.


This is the Translink response ....

Dear Mike,
Thank you for contacting TransLink.
Your comments have been forwarded to our Infrastructure Department for investigation.
Kind Regards,
Lyndell
TransLink Customer Support